'I Was Stationed in Asia 40 Years Ago and I'd Love to Go Back'

Most people travel to St. John to bask in the luxury of five-star resorts, dine in expensive restaurants and get tanked at shiny bars with ocean views. But to those searching for a more authentic experience, the swankiest of the three US Virgin Islands also reveals an exciting glimpse of Caribbean life -- one that sparkles with West Indian flavors and rhythms, and comes at a much cooler price. Consider breakfast. Instead of wasting $12 or more on an omelet with home fries at a predictable tourist eatery, St. John's local Caribbeans prefer to start the day with Johnny Cakes. A savory deep-fried flour pouch stuffed with any combination of eggs, cheese or ham, this palm-sized specialty sells for $1-$2 at the local take-out kiosks. These tiny stands also serve delicious lunches. Comfees in downtown Cruz Bay, up the hill from First Bank, prepares some of the best pates on the island: elliptical rolls of dough filled with ground beef, chicken, salt-fish or conch, a soft Caribbean shell-fish. At just $2-$4 each, pates -- similar to Jamaican patties -- make a cheap lunch that works well as a beach-side picnic (Tel: 714-5262) . Arthur Hercules sells plenty of meals from his kiosk called Hercules located strategically across from the Lumberyard Mall in Cruz Bay, St. John's biggest town. (Tel: 776-6352). The tourists are mad about the patés," he says from behind his white wood counter, squeezing raw dough in his hand. "Locals go for the salt-fish and Johnny Cakes." A welcoming St. Kitts native who worked at a luxury resort here for twenty years before starting his own business, Hercules also recommends bull foot soup -- made with cows feet and vegetables -- for breakfast. Salt fish is ubiquitous on the local menus, and Sosa's Restaurant on Cruz Bay Road cooks it just right, in a piquant tomato sauce for $12. Like most of its entrees, the shredded, chewy fish comes with salad, rice and beans, and sweet fried plantains, providing more than enough to feed a hungry surfer. Sosa's livens up at night and on weekends you'll hear salsa and merengue hits blaring from a juke box, as a young Dominican clientele chats over icy beers (Tel: 693-8881). Just a few steps away, Sogo's Restaurant specializing in West Indian cuisine serves a reasonable curry goat stew with vegetables, plantains and rice for $10 (Tel: 779-4404). To get away from Cruz Bay, check out the much smaller town of Coral Bay on the other side of the island, where many locals live. Vitran buses leave every two hours from the ferry dock in Cruz Bay and the 45 minute trip costs $1. Although the commercial area of Coral Bay consists of little more than a recently paved road and a handful of businesses, a casual restaurant on the main drag called Sticky Fingers serves excellent barbecue. Popular with a diverse neighborhood crowd who sit in the gravel front-yard under a baby blue and yellow awning,the eatery serves up barbecue chicken, pork ribs or beef brisket with a scrumptious home-made sauce and two sides for $12.95 or less. (Tel: 715-1110) Like the nightlife? But the insiders' scene is not all about food. Although the quiet existence led by most locals leaves a nightlife with little to brag about, a couple of clubs cater to the needs of the young and sleepless. On Cruz Bay's King Street on Wednesdays and Fridays, Fred's jumps to the beat of live soca music and reggae long into the night, its concrete dance floor and low corrugated roof barely containing the young crowd. The frenetic rhythm of the calypso-like soca can be intimidating at first, but your thighs will thank you for the workout. (Tel: 776-6363). If it's cheap liquor you are after, look no further than Cap's Place, a seedy sprawling roadside bar across from the post office on North Shore Road. (Tel: 693-8609). Always busy on weekends, Cap's sells rum drinks for $2, and keeps three television shows running for good measure. A dimly lit pool table and loud salsa music complete the picture, but it's worth stopping in just for the experience. If you're serious about your music, however, trek out to Coral Bay where Sputnik attracts some decent bands. In the eighties and nineties, Sputnik was a key destination for reggae aficionados from around the Caribbean; today it's not quite as high-profile but it serves a dedicated group of St. John music fans. Bands usually play Friday and Saturday nights, but call ahead to confirm. (Tel: 776-6644) An affordable bed When you're done partying, eating and drinking at a discount, get ready for some painful news at bedtime. On an island where visitors think nothing of spending $400 on a double room, cheap hotels can be difficult to find. The Inn at Tamarind Court on Centerline Road is one of the cheapest hotels around, with six economy rooms with shared bathrooms that go for $75 from December 1 through May 31. Book several weeks in advance and steer clear of the windowless rooms (Tel: 776-6378.) But the best way to get affordable accommodations on the island is to opt for the less traditional choices. Maho Bay Campgrounds offers a host of tented bungalows, private canvas-sided "villas", if you will, built on wooden platforms and shaded by lush greenery that are quite comfortable, and go for about $110 per night in high season (the price drops to $75/night from May 1 through Dec. 23). Go to maho.org for full information. If you really want to keep down the cost, check out the Cinnamon Bay campgrounds off Route 20 where you can pitch your own tent for $27 or share a cottage with up to four friends for $110-$140. (Tel: 776-6330.) The cottages are spartan and the communal bathrooms primitive, but you'll be just yards away from one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.

How to get a low-cost airfare to Europe? Let us count the ways. There are numerous methods, some complicated, some straightforward and some, frankly, a bit odd, for saving money on airfare. We've created a partial road-map below and we suggest that you read through all four methods before trying any. Good luck! 1. Saving money by being "flexible" in your choice of departure dates and destinationsAirhitch (airhitch.org) is the 35-year-old organization (it started in 1969 as a campus organization!) that will help you literally hitchhike your way across the Atlantic in either direction, any time (even at the peak of the summer travel season) for a remarkable $165, plus taxes and fees (the total comes to $210) provided you are flexible with the exact date of your departure and the exact European city where you'll start your trip. Still listening? In actual fact, Airhitch says, it turns out that Airhitchers are able to get rides across the Atlantic more than 99 percent of the time, often right to their preferred destinations and on their preferred dates. And if it doesn't, Airhitch insists, what does it matter? How important is it, really, to start your trip in Amsterdam rather than Brussels, Dusseldorf rather than Frankfurt, on September 18 rather than September 17? (especially since, due to the European Union's revolutionary overhauling of intraEurope air-transport, fares within Europe are dirt-cheap these days, often cheaper than the bus!) Think like a traveler, not a tourist, Airhitch recommends, and you'll find those variances to be inconsequential--at least if you are traveling just for the sake of traveling and not for some specific extrinsic purpose (like hooking up with a guided tour or going to a wedding or visiting Aunt Minnie). When you sign up for Airhitch, shortly before it's time to fly, you'll go through a "flight-briefing" that helps you optimally manage your departure based on spot availability. The flights are rated from "A" to "F", with an "A" rating meaning as great a likelihood of boarding as if you actually held a confirmed seat, and "F" a less than 10 percent chance of being able to get on board. It's up to you to read the data, with the help of the "Airhitch Online Staff," and get to the airport, find the flight, and board it (which is sometimes easy, sometimes a huge headache, but is always made easier thru guidance from the AOS right thru the process). What else should you know about Airhitch? First off, you don't pay anything until after you board your flight. This leaves you free at any time leading up to actual boarding to "shop" elsewhere for a "better deal," without penalty. Embedded in the cost of Airhitching, which is not paid until after you board, is a non-refundable $29 registration fee, but even this fee can be waived, if you ultimately decide not to Airhitch, if you simply share with the AOS the details of whatever alternative method you decided on instead of Airhitching. So essentially, you are completely free to change any aspect of your trip, as long as you keep the AOS informed, without costing you an extra penny. The airlines will have no record of you in their computers and it is highly likely that they will not do anything to you in case you change your mind about anything at all. The only downside of this unique and radical method of boarding aircraft is the need to be relatively flexible and patient, but if you are traveling purely for the sake of traveling, that's pretty necessary anyway! 2. Searching the web If you're not an adventurous Air-Hitch flyer, then your next best course--in our view--is to follow a four-step procedure on the Internet for finding low-cost transatlantic fares. This multi-part formula goes as follows: Step One: First ascertain the lowest published airfare for the transatlantic route in which you're interested by accessing one of the "BOT" search engines which compare the offers of such sites as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia with those of the major airline sites. Among the many new "BOT"s, and tend to be the most thorough in their search capabilities. Write down the lowest price they show for the date and European city in which you're interested. Step Two: Then turn--ta dum!--to Budget Travel Online, click on and call up the phone numbers listed (many of these companies you might have already looked up online, but calling sometimes results in a cheaper price). Sometimes the fares over the phone undercut what you can find on the Web, sometimes they don't. If they do, write down the price they offer. And then.... Step Three: Take the lowest price you've ascertained from Steps One and Two above, reduce it by, say, 20 percent, and then submit the reduced number to one of the "name-your-own-price" services: either Priceline.Com or Hotwire.com are good possibilities. If you get that lower price, you've scored a major coup; if not, you've lost nothing, and can proceed to book with the company offering the lowest price under Steps One or Two, above. 3. The ultra-exotic international carriers Ever thought of flying to Europe on Uzbekistan Airways? For a short, heady time some months ago, bright budget travelers could cut their transatlantic flight cost to as little as $300 round-trip by departing from New York on a plane ultimately going to far-off Tashkent, but stopping on the way for fuel in Amsterdam. Because Uzbekistan Airways was not exactly in heavy demand, it usually had seats available on its New York/Amsterdam segment, which it sold off at sacrificial rates. Well, Air Uzbekistan no longer stops in Western Europe on the way to its exotic and remote capital (it stops instead in Kiev); but other equally exotic airlines do. Wanna get to London cheap? Fly Kuwait Airlines. Frankfurt? Check out Singapore Airlines. While some of these carriers will not quote a reduced rate directly to you, they all work with specific favored "consolidators" (discounters) that can usually offer heavy discounts for the transatlantic portion of the trip. Here are examples to key European cities: To London, the standard high season price that most people pay from New York is the in the neighborhood of $775 plus tax charged by such familiar carriers as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and American Airlines, for a 14-day advance-purchase round-trip excursion fare on midweek departures. Flying instead on Air-India in high season (on a flight that goes New York-London-Bombay/New Delhi), you will pay up to $250 less between New York and London if you buy your tickets from such Air-India consolidators as Air and Cruise Line Travel (212/689-9455) or Galaxy Tours and Travel (212/564-9611). In autumn, you can pay even less to London by flying there on Kuwait Airways, which stops in the British capital on its way to the Middle East. Consolidators such as Ferns Travel (212/868-9194) regularly sell autumn-winter New York/London round-trips on Kuwait Airways starting under $300. But in 2003, who needed Kuwait airlines with Virgin frequently underselling the competition with fares as low as $178 roundtrip to London. Fares from Los Angeles to distant London on Air New Zealand, which flies that route transatlantic and then continues on to its home country. In summer (Air New Zealand's low season), the Kiwi carrier has been known to charge as little as $460 plus tax (during limited-time sales) for round-trip flights from the U.S. West coast to the British metropolis. And those rates usually stay under $500 even in the fall, when New Zealand activity picks up. Contact Air New Zealand directly (800/262-1234 or 800/671-6560). To Frankfurt, if you contact a consolidator for Singapore Airlines like Travel Point (212/967-1766) which offers roundtrip service in the low season for $199 but expect to pay as much as $599 in the high season. To Brussels, standard round-trip rates on Belgium's flag carrier, Sabena, run $870 in summer and early fall, $714 in late autumn, from New York. By contrast, Biman Bangladesh can get you there round-trip for as little as $337 plus tax in high season, through such consolidators handling its flights as Syncom (212/573-9076) or United Travel (212/481-7799). Biman Bangladesh crosses the Atlantic, stopping in Brussels, on its way to the India sub-continent. 4. Another alternative: Charters and consolidators to Europe Tour operators and packagers often get special airfares by selling large amounts of tickets for the airlines. Some even utilize charter carriers to cut costs further. But one needn't buy an air-hotel package to take advantage of these savings: these same companies also offer air-only options. Connections may be limited, check-in time may be increased, and ticket changes can be difficult, if allowed at all. But if the schedules work for you (being flexible helps), this method is also a money-saver. For summer and early fall travel of 2002, mainstream sources generally charge $100 to $300 more than prices quoted below. New Frontiers is widely known for bargain air-hotel packages to Paris, but it also offers air alone on its charter carrier, Corsair, from Los Angeles to Paris. Flights leave for Paris on Tuesdays and return on Sundays. Prices range from $548 for departures in May, $648 in early June, up to $748 for an economy seat in summer's peak season, all valid for a 90-day stay. Similar rates are offered for Corsair flights from Oakland to Paris (departing on Fridays, returning on Thursdays, from June 20 to September 9 only). New Frontiers also works as a consolidator for various airlines, with connections all over the U.S. to Europe. For a price quote, call 800/677-0720. If you fancy Italy, Fantasy Holidays (800/645-2555) can help you get there affordably. This operator sells discounted tickets aboard Italian national carrier Alitalia, with connections not only to major airports like Rome and Milan, but to destinations such as Bologna, Florence, Naples, Pisa, and Venice. What is extra nice is that prices are usually the same no matter which final airport you choose. Fly to any of the above cities by June 11 and prices start at $610 for departures from New York (JFK), Newark, Boston, Chicago, Miami, or Atlanta. From June 12 through August 31, prices begin at $970. Sceptre Tours is a staple in the Ireland market, and can arrange inexpensive airfare to the Emerald Isle with direct flights on Aer Lingus. Known primarily as a discount packager to Hawaii and Mexico, SunTrips also arranges charter flights from the San Francisco area (where there is a large Portuguese community) to the Azores, a historic island chain located a few hours off the coast of Portugal, $509 from Boston or New York (JFK) for departures from June 1 to August 31. For the same dates from Chicago, rates begin at $599, and from Los Angeles, round-trips start at $695. If you prefer flights to Dublin, add $10 each way. Prices quoted are based on midweek flights; for weekends add $30 each way. Returns are valid a full six months after departure. Call 800/221-0924 for more details. Homeric Tours' home base is Greece, and this packager offers some pretty prices to the Greek capital of Athens aboard its charter airline, World Airways. Flights for Athens leave New York's JFK Airport on Thursdays and Saturdays, with returns on Friday and Sunday. Rates start as low as $559 round-trip if you depart before June 13, up to $849 in the mid-summer. For reservations, go online to or call 800/223-5570. Netherlands native Martinair regularly flies from Amsterdam to Florida before continuing on to the Caribbean. You can pick up a flight on the return route from Orlando (three days a week) or Miami (five days a week) to Amsterdam starting at $598 round-trip if you fly by June 15, up to $840 in the heart of summer. Find out more by calling 800/MARTINAIR. LTU International Airways, a small German carrier based in Dusseldorf, offers five connections from North America (three in Florida) to its hub airport. For flights departing by June 15, rates to Dusseldorf start at $638 from Miami, Ft. Myers, or Orlando (up to $818 from June 16 to August 31). From Los Angeles, rates begin at $798 up through June 17, going up to $998 for the rest of the summer. The peak season price (June 18 to August 31) for Toronto to Dusseldorf is $1,090. LTU also has connecting flights from Dusseldorf to Munich and Frankfurt, sometimes at no extra charge. Call 866/266-5588. Known primarily as a discount packager to Hawaii and Mexico, SunTrips also arranges charter flights from the San Francisco area (where there is a large Portuguese community) to the Azores, a historic island chain located a few hours off the coast of Portugal. Flights to the Azores aboard SunTrips charter carrier RyanAir are seasonal, departing Oakland on Wednesdays, returning Thursdays, June through September. Prices range between $639 to $1,148, depending on when you leave and how long you stay. It is not unheard of to pay $799 plus tax for a round-trip in the middle of July. From Oakland, the plane may make one refueling stop in Montreal before flying direct into the Azores. To find out more, call SunTrips at 800/786-4357. If that fare to the Azores is still an eyesore, check out the Azores Express, a carrier that frequently offers great deals to the volcanic islands (we saw as low as $399 roundtrip from Boston for trips in the Oct-Dec and Jan-Mar ranges). Problem is, the airline flies only on Tuesdays and Fridays and charges $75 in taxes-there's always a catch.

Sunset at the lookout on Bartolom, Island, and it's business as usual in the Galapagos: Squadrons of blue-footed boobies dive-bomb the Pacific's azure waters, plummeting headfirst in rapid succession in search of an evening meal. An hour ago, our group of seven tourists and a guide watched six stealthy sharks and an eagle ray prowling the surf. Earlier, we clambered over the cinders of a black lava field, then snorkeled off a powdery white beach accompanied by penguins, nosy sea lions, and marine iguanas as wizened as shrunken Godzillas. It's a typical afternoon of a seven-night cruise that will take us to 11 islands. We're on the equator, 600 miles west of Ecuador on mainland South America. This is budget travel in the Galapagos Islands. Not bad for something that costs you $65 per day, and not too different from the cruises that charge some suckers $300 per day for the same itinerary. That's right: forget about those prices you see at home, many of which start north of $2,000 for a week in the islands before air, which can tack on another $800 to $1,200. With flexibility and gumption, you can do the whole thing--including airfare--from $1,500. Before you read any further, a warning: if you don't like boats, a Galapagos cruise may not be for you. Because the archipelago is an Ecuadorian national park, the only practical way to tour the islands is on one of about 85 government-licensed vessels, usually on a tour of four to eight days, with an approved guide. And with a few exorbitant exceptions, the boats are designed, well, like boats--for efficiency, not luxury, for 8 to 16 passengers. On the cheapest cruises--which are better termed "tours"--cabins might be cramped and passengers share the head, but in general the crews are friendly and accommodating, the meals hearty, and the living quarters spotless. Fortunately, most evenings you'll be too tired to care that there's no swing band or midnight buffet. This is an active vacation: days begin around 7 A.M. and involve lots of walking, snorkeling, and photographing. Even for rock-bottom amenities, if you book from home, the lowest-priced tours don't come cheaper than $1,000 for seven nights, without air. Before we flew to Ecuador to seek saner rates, look at what we were quoted for a week on the following boats: the rather basic Cachalote, $1,354 (Kon-Tiki Tours and Travel); the better Santa Cruz, $2,010 including four nights in Quito (Metropolitan Touring); and $2,375 on the fancy Galapagos Explorer II (Lost World Adventures). Book instead in Quito Don't pay that! Spending more doesn't buy you greater access to the islands, and the animals don't care how much you shelled out. When boats have unsold spaces, many owners slash prices, so book your cruise in Quito, Ecuador's capital, or in the islands themselves, and you'll get cut-rate berths. We'll start in Quito, a safer, if slightly more costly, hedge bet (the other alternative is to book your boat in the islands themselves, namely in Puerto Ayora; see below). Ideally, you should set aside at least two weeks for your trip, which will give you eight days of cruising, two days' international transit, and a few days to explore the colonial byways of Quito, which is nestled among the volcanoes of the Andes. Getting to Quito should be your biggest expense. Discount round-trip airfares from the East Coast run about $600; from the Midwest $600-$700; and from the West Coast $600-$800. (Airfare discounters specializing in flights to Quito include Odyssey Travel at 800/395-5955, Exito at 800/655-4053, and Dan Travel at 800/362-1308.) Often, frequent-flyer mileage can also be a pretty good deal. American Airlines, which flies to Quito from Miami, and Continental Airlines, which flies from Houston, require only 35,000 miles--for less than the 60,000 miles sometimes required to reach South American destinations such as Lima or Sao Paulo. You'll also have to fly from Quito to Puerto Ayora in the Galapagos, from which the cruises depart. Always keep in mind that the government has a monopoly on flights to Puerto Ayora, which is the islands' central town; you must take a TAME (TAH-may) jet from Quito or Guayaquil. The agency that sells your tour should also arrange your air reservation to Baltra--the airport, in effect, for Puerto Ayora--to coincide with your boat's sailing. From June 15 to August 31 and December 1 to January 15, the set price for foreigners is $385 round-trip, and at all other times, it's $329. If you plan to find a boat on your own in Puerto Ayora, sans travel agent, you must arrange the flights yourself. You can reserve ahead (call 011-593-2-509/383-4678) but to avoid getting bumped, obtain your first boarding pass (prechequeo) at the TAME office at Avenida Amazonas and Avenida Cristobal Colon. In Puerto Ayora, when you find out when your cruise will end, you can pick up a return pass (Av. Charles Darwin and 12 de Febrero); there's a fee to change a flight once a boarding pass is issued. In addition to airfare, everyone must pay a $100 national park entry fee in cash at Baltra's airport; unmarked $20 bills work best as larger bills are scrutinized with great suspicion. With airfare squared away, you can concentrate on choosing your cruise. In Quito, travel agents are clustered around Avenue Amazonas in New Town, so it won't take long to canvass for bargains. Different companies (closed weekends) offer different boats, so visit several. We like dealing with Angermeyer's Enchanted Expeditions (Foch 726, 011-593-2/569-960, angerme1@angermeyer.com.ec) and Safari Tours (Calama 380 or Pasaje de Roca, 011-593-2/234-799/552-505, admin@safari.com.ec), where you can read tourist reviews of the boats. Other shops include Pam Tour (Cordero 1424, 011-593-2/225-916/543-793, pamtour.com.ec) and Galasam (Cordero 1354, 011-593-2/507-0811, galasam@accessinter.net), but there are more. When we most recently collected quotes from the shops--and by the way, our research was conducted without speaking Spanish - we found big savings: Angermeyer's offered the well-reviewed Cachalote for $800--a 41 percent cut from U.S. rates. Pay with traveler's checks or in cash, but be extremely wary of toting money around Quito. Ecuador's economic troubles have led to routine tourist muggings; outside of business hours, we strongly advise taxis ($1-$4), even if you're only going a few blocks. (The islands, though, are safe.) Once you book, your work is done. Unless, of course, you're willing to try for even cheaper rates in Puerto Ayora. Or book your cruise in the islands themselves (Puerto Ayora) Puerto Ayora, pop. 8,000, is the cheapest place of all to buy your Galapagos cruise, but there's a catch: prices are lowest here, but so is availability. In high season (July, August, and December), boats can sell out early, so unless you're willing to wait as much as a week for a spot, it's a risk to try then. That said, we had no trouble finding space in the first week of July. First, learn which boats have space. For the latest rundown, there are a half-dozen shops along Avenida Charles Darwin that specialize in last-minute offers. Victor Vaca at Gal pagos Discovery (Padre Julio Herrera on the main square, 011-593-5/526-245; victor_vaca@hotmail.com) has the best agent price, $65-$85/day ($520-$600 for an eight-day cruise), but be warned that many of his ultracheapies are of the most basic quality - which in a country like Ecuador can translate into safety concerns. While many budget travelers are satisfied with the value, others have complained. Similar boats and rates are on offer at Enchantours (Av. Charles Darwin across from the Capitania de Puerto, 011-593-5/526-657, xavieraguirre@hotmail.com) and Galasam (on the main square, 011-593-5/526-051, hepartou@ayora.ecua.net.ec). If you don't want to worry about the boat's reputation, see trustworthy Yenny Divine at Moonrise Travel Agency (Av. Charles Darwin across from Banco Pacifico, 011-593-5/526-348, sdivine@interactive.net.ec), whose "tours" (cruises) cost more (at $90-$110/day), but who is widely known for her discerning representation. Most of the boats have bases in town, so negotiating an unbeatable rate (and inspecting the boat) is as simple as heading for the proper office. That's how we recently booked the delightful ten-passenger Beagle III, for which we originally obtained a quote of $110/day from Moonrise. Negotiations with the boat's owner finally won us an eight-day tour for $80/day, with one day for free ($560 total). If we had paid at home through any of the famous Galapagos tour operators, the same cruise would have set us back $1,795. Our tour was comfortable, our Naturalist III guide eloquent, and because the operator lives in Puerto Ayora, our money remained in the islands instead of going to Miami or Quito, where many boat owners live. Cheap Galapagos tours won't be a secret for much longer. Last April, the seeds of revolution were sown: Quiet Puerto Ayora was fitted with 1,000 new telephone lines. Boats that for years depended on agent bookings can now bypass middlemen and solicit tourist reservations through the Internet. The Galapagos may be a trip of a lifetime, but from now on, it shouldn't cost your life savings. Alternatives If you don't want to spend your entire vacation on a rocking boat, you can substitute individual day trips from Puerto Ayora for a multiday cruise. Let's assume you're uneasy about the motion sickness that can sometimes be encountered in the course of a five- to seven-day journey in a small boat. Agents want you to fork over big bucks for those traditional cruises leaving from Puerto Ayora. But base yourself on the island, staying in a number of small and very inexpensive hotels in sleepy Puerto Ayora (see below), and you can experience the Gal pagos on day jaunts to some of the same islands (Seymour Norte, South Plaza, Santa Fe, and Bartolom). The cost? Between $20 and $50 per day trip, depending on the island and your bargaining skills. Overnight sojourns to Floreana and Espa ola are offered for $80-$100. Boats rotate, so you may have to wait a few days for the island of your choice. Would you cover more ground on a cruise? Certainly. Would you be missing the Gal pagos experience without one? Decidedly not. There's plenty to see near town. At the Charles Darwin Research Station (free), giant land tortoises are raised from hatchlings (open daily; walk 10 minutes east of town on Darwin). Afterwards, hire a taxi for the day rate ($35) and possibilities develop: In the Cerro Chato reserve, tortoises run wild-if that's the phrase--through the thicket. At Mr. Moreno's farm, a guide will lead you on a 45-minute trek ($3) to a lake where they congregate. The island is threaded with tunnels of volcanic rock called lava tubes, many free. Just 12 miles from town, two massive sinkholes called Los Gemelos swarm with exotic birds (free). Or for $30 for two, hike five hours to the Media Luna volcanic cone. The sea also teems with life. At Tortuga Bay, a 45-minute walk from town, pelicans scoop dinner from a placid inlet (free; bring your mask and fins). Or for about $3, take a water taxi to the islet of Caama o for the thrill of swimming with sea lions. Hire a kayak from Manglar Adventure (the east end of Darwin, $8 to $20) and paddle the canyons of Las Grietas with white-tipped sharks and marine iguanas. Manglar also rents surfboards ($10); the Gal pagos have some of the planet's best surfing, and juvenile sea lions often shred waves alongside humans. If, after all that, you'd still like a traditional multiday cruise, here's a tip: boat itineraries usually include a day at the Research Station. Since you've already seen it, negotiate yourself out of that day. You'll save another 25 to 35 percent.

There's nothing like seeing Europe from your own set of wheels, even taking into account the manic traffic patterns and driving methods. A car grants you the freedom to go wherever you want, whenever you want, turning up a dirt road to visit a vineyard or down a back alley to explore a medieval town. OK, so cars do have one big drawback: they are pretty expensive, especially when compared to riding the rails, or even flying. I don't mean just the rental cost. Gasoline in Europe costs roughly four times what it does here. No joke. That's part of why they drive so many of those teensy, fuel-efficient, little Matchbox cars over there, and why they're still churning out diesel-powered sedans and wagons. And let's not forget parking garages in cities that cost $20 a night. High daily rates, mandatory insurance, obscure vehicle drop-off fees. Yep, renting a car in Europe can be a pretty costly proposition. We're here to help. There's no place like home....to book your wheels Don't wait until you're over there to rent a vehicle. It is invariably cheaper to do it from home. Also, with few exceptions (Dan Dooley in Ireland comes to mind), most major European rental agencies are now part of, or affiliated with, the big U.S. agencies (Hertz, Avis, National), so going direct to the European ones doesn't yield a better deal. It goes without saying you should shop around. There seems to be nothing so variable as a car rental quote. Go online to each of the major company's Web sites and find a base rate for each. Then call them up--call each of them up--and see if you can do better. Sometimes just calling the same company twice will yield two different rates. It's very frustrating. Once you know all the best prices, go to Auto Europe (autoeurope.com), which operates something like a consolidator for car rentals and usually can beat the best rate offered direct from any company. Yoga time As it is with airfares, it's important to be flexible with car rentals. Have the rental agent run the numbers for all sort of scenarios. Sometimes picking up a day earlier or later (same for drop-off) can save you big bucks. Unless you're leaving the metropolitan area directly from the airport and not even bothering to visit the major city to which it is attached, always pick up from downtown locations, not the airport, as there is invariably an usurious extra fee for airport rentals. Trade down a few models; do you really need the Ferrari convertible, or can you make do with a Fiat Punto? Even try different pick-up/drop-off cities--you never know. Share the love, cut the cost Renting is a particularly expensive proposition for the solo traveler, who has to shoulder the entire cost himself. For families or small groups, however, the fact that there's just one lump fee actually works in your favor, as the amount is spread across each person's costs. Sometimes the magic number of total passengers is three, sometimes four, but at some point renting a car becomes cheaper than buying three or four separate train tickets. Still, even if it's just one or two of you and therefore renting is going to take a big bite out of your budget, there can be situations in which renting a car is worth the expense. If you are at all planning to visit the villages of Provence, the hilltowns and vineyards of Tuscany, the whitewashed pueblos of Andalucia, or any other itinerary rarely of never served by trains or buses, get the car. The truer Europe lies in the small towns, not the big cities. Don't short-change your experience by short-changing your budget. Rent by the week, or pay the consequence$ Daily rental rates for periods less than one week are staggeringly high; it can cost almost as much to rent for two days as it does for seven. It's just one of the annoying realities of the industry. If, however, you only expect to need a vehicle for a day or two here and there, there are two loopholes. Look into the rail-and-drive passes available from Rail Europe (raileurope.com). These get you several days of unlimited rail travel on a flexi-pass (see the Rails section for an explanation) along with several days of car rental. You can add rail days or car days as needed to customize the pass to fit your schedule. P-lease don't rent for long periods of time If you're spending at least 17 days in Europe, do not rent a car. Lease one instead. For periods longer than 17 days, short-term leasing a car fresh off the factory floor is almost always cheaper--often by 20 to 50 percent--than renting. And since the car is technically yours, you get full insurance coverage--no added charges for CDW or theft protection, no deductible, and no taxes (foreigners don't have to pay VAT on purchases). You also get something no rental can give you: that that new-car smell. This is not a new phenomenon or a fly-by-night operation. These are deals set up directly by Renault, Pugeot, and other manufacturers, and they've been offering them since the 1950s--it's just never been widely advertised. It's easiest to arrange a lease through one of three agencies. Europe By Car (800/223-1516, or 212/581-3040 in New York, europebycar.com) has the widest selection of vehicles by far, and while the cheapest are usually something French (a Renault or Pugeot), anything from a Ford to a Beemer is available. The European car rental specialist Auto-Europe (888/223-5555, autoeurope.com), which for standard rental contracts works just like an airline consolidator, also has a leasing program with Peugeot. If you'd prefer to go straight to the source, Renault Eurodrive (800/221-1052, or 212/532-1221 in New York, renaultusa.com) has an office set up in the U.S. that does nothing but arrange these short-term leases on its own vehicles. The big asset with Renault is that they throw in a free cell phone to use while you are there. A few other side benefits: since you're technically buying the car (with a buy-back clause in the purchase agreement) you get exactly the make and model you want, not the "Opel Astra or similar" a rental agent promises. You don't have to pony up the $5 per day for any additional drivers. It's your car, you can let your husband drive if you want to. Also, leasing is available to anyone over age 18 (rental firms often won't rent to people under 23 or 25 years old). There's no extra charge for dropping off in a different location from where you picked up--though any pick up or drop-off made outside France usually tacks on $50 to $175--and, unlike with rentals, airport pick-ups are (usually) no more expensive than downtown. A limitation: you can pick up and drop off pretty much only at major cities and airports; there is no vast network of rental offices (though you do get the usual 24-hour emergency call number). Shifting to manual controls--now Stick-shift models are always cheaper than ones with automatic transmission. What's more, you get better gas mileage (and Europe's high gas prices will make you thankful for that), plus you have more control over your vehicle and driving technique, which can be especially useful when navigating twisting Alpine roads or the impossibly narrow stone alleyways of medieval towns. Be a country driver Avoid at all costs renting a car for your time in any major city. Public transportation is efficient, cheap, and always gets you where you want to go, even on the outskirts. Driving, on the other hand, is a frightening, expensive, and pointlessly time-consuming experience. Not only is the traffic horrendous (and local traffic laws and practices only semi-scrutable), but gas is terribly expensive, as is parking. Speaking of parking, there isn't any. Not, at least, where you want to go. Most street-side parking is time-limited and pricey. Your best bet if you end up with a car and are in a city is to find a large, cheap communal garage and stick your vehicle there for the duration. The best overall rental strategy is to arrange to pick up your car at some downtown office on the last day you are in the first city of your trip, and to drop it off on your first day in the last city on your itinerary. Um, that may have made little sense. In other words, spend your three days in Rome, then pick up the car on the morning of the fourth day to spend a week driving leisurely northwards through Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and the Veneto, and finally drop the car off as soon as you get to Venice. Conveniently, this technique also helps you avoid the airport pick-up/drop-off charge. Instead of driving into town and parking the thing for three days (figure on $30 to $40 a day), you can just use the high speed rail link to get downtown (usually $7 to $20). Also, it shortens you rental period and saves you some dough that way. Don't let the man stick it to you Treat car rental companies like the worst kind of snake oil salesmen, 'cause that's how they treat you. They'll try their hardest to hide as many fees from you as possible so that their price looks like the best deal in town. Don't let them. Pressure them to reveal all the fees involved, then get it all in writing and don't let the actual car office in Europe where you pick the vehicle up (or the one where you drop it off) try to tack on anything else, as they often will try to do. They will try to bamboozle you with fine print to cheat you out of more money. Sad but true. Here are some (thoroughly legal) scams to watch out for. Except in Spain and Italy, where some kick-back local laws make purchasing theft protection and CDW (the Collision Damage Waver) from the rental agency itself mandatory, you do not have to buy this insurance. Don't let them force-feed you all these extra fees. These days, almost every credit card covers CDW if you use it to pay for your rental. Tell the rental agent that. Fax her a copy of your card agreement's fine print if you have to. Don't let the company bilk you out of money for insurance coverage you already have. On a related note, make sure the rental agent quotes you a price for absolutely everything. Don't let her get away with leaving off the taxes and such, as they can be hugely significant. In my experience, the original price quoted--just for the rental, before they get into taxes (often, multiple taxes), drop-off fees for returning to a different location, mandatory insurance, and more--turns out to be roughly half of what the final price is.